Living the Lively Virtues

Katie: Hi Ladies! As we start Lent, we wanted to do a blog post welcoming you to the Behold family. A little intro- I’m Katie, the founder of Behold, and I’m here with Alex, our creative director!

As we write this, it is a few days before Lent, and we’re sitting at our favorite place to work on Behold...A cute little coffee shop here in NJ.  So, treat yo-self, brew your favorite coffee at home (unless you gave that up for Lent), and join in with us!

We are starting an exciting blog series this Lent on the lively virtues! We wanted to give a little introduction to how we will be spending the next few weeks here at Behold.

Alex: This idea originally came to mind while talking about our hopes and dreams for the Behold blog, as we were sitting on the couch, most likely drinking more coffee and going on a beauty rant. It hit me as we were speaking about Lent that I often struggle with focusing on the ways I fail. I get stuck in the mentality that in order to get closer to Jesus I must chastise myself every time I fall, and replay in my head over and over how I could have been better. I assume I’m supposed to obtain virtue by myself, when in reality I can only achieve it through fixing my gaze upon the One who loves me.

Katie: That is the whole reason why I was motivated to start Behold...To combat the idea of perfectionism.  If I couldn’t even tell you how many times I fall into the very things we try to combat with our ministry...I formed Behold because I found that I needed the message just as much as everyone else. In my own life, I often listen to the lies that I am less valuable because of my failures, instead of the reality of who I was created to be, and beauty calls us out of that.

That is so much a part of what we are doing here at Behold. Our mission is to help women to experience beauty- knowing God through beauty, and encountering the beauty of themselves and others through that encounter.

Last year, I heard a powerful homily on Ash Wednesday that mentioned how the ash cross is a reminder of the blessing with chrism at Baptism. It tells us we are daughters of God- created by love, to love, and for love… claimed by the Cross of Christ.

We are not defined by our sins, and the sign we receive on our heads on Ash Wednesday is a good reminder of the communion and love we are all called to... Virtue helps us to do this.

Alex: Virtue is the active expression of beauty in the way we live our lives. Instead of constantly being stuck on our vices- why don’t we look to Christ and see with eyes of truth- that we may fail at times, but we are not less worthy because of it. Instead, we find our worth solely in Christ Jesus, and through Him we can be who we are created to be.

We want to invite you to follow this Lenten series- to see how Christ has called us all to chastity, temperance, generosity, zeal, longsuffering, admiration, and humility. Each of our writers has selflessly agreed to share their joys and struggles in striving for these 7 lively virtues.

We’re excited for you read and come on this Lenten journey with us! A journey which reminds us of the suffering that Christ embraced so that we might live, a journey that began in sorrow but revealed the Glory of God. This is a journey that we are similarly called to- that although virtue is difficult, it is in saying yes to Jesus that we come to know the triumph of the Cross over death.

Katie: It is our hope that by encountering the beauty of these virtues, by the sharing of our stories, you will encounter your own goodness.  

You are in our prayers, dear Sisters! <3

"The end for which we are created invites us to walk a road that is surely sown with a lot of thorns, but it is not sad; through even the sorrow, it is illuminated by joy." -Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

About the Authors

​In February of 2017, Katie Woltornist (on the right) discerned that God was calling her to create Behold to help women encounter their innate beauty and human dignity through praying with sacred art- something that has allowed her to come closer to Christ in her own life. 

By the grace of God, Katie and Alex (on the left) became roommates in September 2017. Instantaneously, a friendship was created through love of art and a desire to follow Jesus. Behold was an answer to Alex’s prayers, and she soon came on board as editor and creative director.

Some of their favorite things to do together include drinking coffee, ranting about Jesus and beauty, sharing a deep love for Our Lady and John Paul II, making art, going on “frates” (friend-dates), and drinking more coffee.